Stone Cold
by Kessie-Louise
Summary: In which the Ice Emperor receives a visitor that claims to be from both the future and the past. Vex is not amused. [oneshot][features a next-gen kid][loosely tied to RE: Time Window][some spoilers for Season 11]


He had reclaimed his throne for several years now, and yet something seemed… off. When he discussed the idea with Vex, his adviser only insisted that things were going as planned. What was going as planned? As far as the Ice Emperor could see, there was not much diplomacy happening. Vex did the leg work, the Ice Emperor himself sat on the throne and listened to his adviser without question.

Or… perhaps that was the plan? To sit, and to listen, day in and day out to Vex without very little question. The more the Ice Emperor dwelled on it, the more something seemed to be very, very wrong. But _what_?

"Let _go_ of me!"

Whatever thoughts the Ice Emperor had on the matter, it was interrupted by the arrival of Vex and an unfamiliar girl. The Ice Emperor barely moved his head to get a better look at them. Vex was holding the girl with her hands behind her back, in retaliation she was doing her best to struggle out of his grasp. Once the two were close enough to the throne, Vex unceremoniously tossed the girl to the ground.

"My Emperor," he then said to his ruler in a firm voice, "I bring to you a spy from the Formlings. Our guards found her navigating the dungeons; we suspect that she was sent to free our prisoner..."

"I've already _told_ you!" the girl interjected as she tried to get back to her feet; her sass and annoyance not lost on the Emperor. "I'm not a Formling, I don't even know what they _are_! I think I made that clear when I asked one of your generals for directions."

"Enough!" Vex demanded, knocking the girl back down to her knees. She let out a small yelp of surprise when she hit the ground again. Vex sneered as he loomed over her, procuring a dagger to hold at her neck. In a dark, cold voice, he spat, "You'd do well to hold that tongue in front of the Emperor, child."

"Enough Vex."

Now either annoyed or surprised, Vex looked up at the Emperor. "But sire, she's dangerous… We need to get rid of her as quickly as-"

"Let the child speak for herself."

There was no hiding Vex's annoyance now. He did not help the girl get up, and they all watched as she brushed herself off in some last minute attempt to be presentable. When she finally gave her full attention to the Ice Emperor, her whole body froze and her face became pale.

"Oh wow," she shuddered, "It's really you."

The Ice Emperor raised an eyebrow. What a… curious thing to say. The girl seemed to realize this as well, quickly shaking her head and muttering something under her breath before looking back at him.

"My name is Minerva." she told the Emperor. "I don't have time to make you believe it or not, but I have come from the future. (Or maybe I guess the past, if I understand this world's rules?) Either way, I'm _just_ passing through. I'm lost, and the moment your adviser realizes that I'm just _super_ unlucky, then we can all go our separate ways."

"Ridiculous." Vex grumbled. "From the future? How is that even possible?"

"Well it _is_, just not with technology from your bass-ackwards world."

"Emperor, please!" Vex now pleaded. "Toss her her the dungeons with our other prisoner. It's clear that she is not only a troublemaker, but a lunatic as well!"

The air chilled around them as the Ice Emperor thought it over. However, a part of this seemed… familiar? It was an odd feeling. He had to know more.

"Child, tell me… Are you truly lost here?"

"Yes." she agreed- a small sense of desperation in her voice now. "Even if I came to this land intentionally, there would be only one thing I'd want to see. Now that I've seen it, I'd like to move onward."

"She is lying, Emperor." Vex then sneered. "Allow me to deal with her; she is obviously a deranged spy from the Formlings."

The girl turned to Vex and gave the most disgusted glare she could give.

"I don't like you." she grimaced. Hearing this, Vex gave a mildly unnerved grimace of his own.

"Within good reason, I assume." he replied in a dark voice.

"Do you ever shut up?"

"Do you ever do as you're told?"

"No, actually. Just talk to my dad- I have four of them."

"It is not possible to have four fathers, child."

"Oh _buddy_, apparently your world has never heard of the term 'adoption' before, huh?"

As the two continued to bicker like children (and in the girl's defense, she _was_), the Ice Emperor considered his proper course of action.

There was something about this girl- something… familiar. It became evident in her voice when she was pleading her case. And her face… She knew him. This stranger, this girl, knew the Ice Emperor in some form or another. How could Vex not see this? Was it possible that the girl could know him when Vex could not? Never minding her odd tale, the Ice Emperor's mind only ran with the same phrase over and over; she knew him. She _knew_ him.

Coming to his decision, the Ice Emperor turned his attention to Vex. In a hard, cold voice he said, "Leave."

For a moment, Vex was too stunned to react.

"B-but your grace! I am your adviser! You can't simply shoo me away like a child or a-"

"_Leave_."

A couple moments of silence filled the air between them before Vex actually did as he was told. His feet all but stomping on the ground as he made his leave. The girl didn't even bother to hide her satisfied smirk as Vex closed the door.

"Come closer, Minerva." the Ice Emperor then beckoned, shocking the girl out of her reverie. There was no need to repeat the command, as Minerva quickly darted her way to the throne. She only stopped when she was a mere five paces from being toe to toe with the Emperor. From here, he had a much better view of her face.

Yes, there was definitely something familiar about this girl. But what? What was this nagging feeling that he was forgetting something important?

"How is… your bird?"

Minerva gave the Ice Emperor a quizzical, almost amused, look. Could he remember something that hasn't happened yet? In this world, any answer would have been a decent guess. Too bad she wasn't a science nerd...

"Always with me." she told him, digging into her jacket to pull out a small metallic cube. The Ice Emperor started to reach out to the cube, but the smart girl put it away again before he could get too close. She then gave him a mischievous grin. "How did you know that I had a bird?"

Although she had no way of seeing it, the Ice Emperor frowned. How did he know that? The more time he spent with the this girl, the more peculiar she became. Strangers as they were, something kept pulling him closer to her. Something was missing and she knew what it was. The more he remained in her presence, the more obvious it wa-

"Don't! Touch me." the Ice Emperor quickly demanded. Minerva, who had been absently moving close enough to almost brush against his leg, nearly jumped so far back that she could have fallen down the stairs. Calmly trying to gather himself up again, the Ice Emperor then amended with, "Your pendant is made of vengestone."

"Huh?" came the initial reaction before Minerva realized what he was talking about. Instinctively, she placed a hand over her pendant in mild defense. She even mumbled a small, "Sorry..." in sincere apology.

The Ice Emperor gave her a pensive stare. "Remove your pendant, Minerva."

"Why?"

For this, he did not have an answer. Instead, his grip tightened on his staff. Minerva happened to see the movement, as small as it was, and seemed to realize something. Without any need to be told twice, she carefully pulled the long chained pendant off of her, and found a place three stairs down to safely place it. Both of them knew that if Vex were still in the room, she never would have done such a thing. Foresight was occasionally a great gift to have.

When she looked up again, the Ice Emperor was holding out his hand. Minerva looked at it for a moment before carefully taking it. She moved a bit closer to him, kneeling down as she brought his hand up to her face. The Ice Emperor raised an eyebrow at this- it seemed to… soothe the girl.

"Even when you're stone cold, you're still so warm..." she smiled before putting his hand back down again. Minerva did not let go of his hand, though, and she remained on her knees in front of him.

In this moment of silence and tranquility, the Ice Emperor began to notice something about this peculiar girl.

"There is a great power within you," he announced, almost sounding a bit surprised, "One that can spell a great ruin or indefinite peace."

The girl smirked. "So I've been told."

"You are not afraid?"

"Until recently, I never thought so."

"What changed?"

"Family."

Suddenly, a quick shock coursed through the Ice Emperor's body. That word… It triggered something deep within him. Voices, faint images. He couldn't tell if they were hints of his future or traces of her past. A small exchange, almost garbled by static, entered his mind's ear.

'_Do you think that we, too, should start to have children, [NAME CACHE NOT STORED]?_'

'_What for? Is that not the role Minerva provides for us?_'

And just like that, the vision was gone. The Emperor held Minerva's hand tighter- almost so tight that she had to struggle a bit out of reflex. She looked up in confusion. The moment had been so gentle before now, what happened? What he said next nearly made her heart skip a beat in shock.

"Stay Minerva- be my heir."

"I… I can't." she admitted, despite herself. She wanted to stay, she really did, but that was not how it was supposed to go. Any of it. Time travel (coupled with a really sheltered childhood) made you create really stupid scenarios like this- things you want to change or just to stay the same. But it can't. It wouldn't.

"You don't need me as an heir," Minerva then told him, succeeding in getting her hand out of his grasp. "I think you know the reason why."

He hated to admit that she was right. He knew why she could not stay, but why did it hurt so much to just let her go? The Ice Emperor recoiled a little as he tightened his grip on his staff again.

"In that case, leave this world as soon as you can, and never return. This world is not safe for strangers."

"Understood." she agreed with a nod. "Thank you for your audience."

She received a small grunt as a reply, and without being told twice, Minerva picked up her pendant. The girl slipped the long chain back over her head, admired the pendant itself for a moment, before making her way back down the stairs. The Ice Emperor watched, hating that he was just letting her walk away. He needed to say more to her. He felt as if she could give him more answers than Vex ever could. But, no. He only let her get further away.

When the girl reached the bottom of the stairs, she paused.

"Remember Emperor," she then said, slightly turning to him, "You were created to help those who can not help themselves." And with that, the enigmatic girl named Minerva walked out of his throne room.


End file.
